Ready to auction . . .

The auction begins at 7 p.m. on Friday at Jordan-Matthews. A BBQ dinner will kickoff the event at 4 p.m.

Chad and Kristi Gaines, of Siler City, are scheduled to perform from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m.

Admission to the auction is free. A BBQ plate can be purchased for $6. Included in the purchase of the dinner plate is a chance to win the $1,000 in the Pot of Gold raffle.

A separate $5 ticket will be sold for a chance to win one of three prizes—$300 in groceries from Best Mart, a Holland Grill and a 27-inch color television.

When the widening of US 15-501 is completed, a county water line will be buried underneath it and accessible only by going through the pavement unless the county takes action to prevent it.

County commissioners plan to address their concerns about the water line with Department of Transportation officials and resolve the issue, but if the highway improvements continue as planned and the water line isn’t moved, the line will be buried underneath the road.

Commissioners discussed the dilemma last week with Tim Carpenter, an engineer with Hobbs, Upchurch and Associates.

So far, the DOT is unwilling to move the eight-inch county water line, officials said.

If it remains in place, it will make it nearly inaccessible for timely repairs should the line break.

"It’s going to make it virtually impossible to tap," said Carpenter.

"And that’s perfectly okay with the DOT?" asked commissioner Bob Atwater.

"Evidently," said Carpenter.

County manager Charlie Horne said moving the line so it isn’t rendered inaccessible by US 15-501 is advisable.

Duke University last spring announced its plans to sell 960 acres of undeveloped land it owns along the Haw River in Chatham County and it appears now the state will buy the property.

Duke has owned the land along the Haw River east of Bynum since 1966, but Duke officials say the university has made little use of the property.

For that reason, the university announced its plans to sell all 960 acres it owns in Chatham County.

The university has now signed an option with the state to buy the land, according to Don Lein, chairman of the Chatham County Parks Foundation, who has been following the matter on behalf of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners.

Lein said a December close on the sale is anticipated, provided the state acquires federal funds to buy the property.

Following the purchase by the state Department of Transportation, the DOT would then turn the land over to the state Parks Department for management.

The county remains interested in the future use of the property, including the potential use of approximately 25 acres, which have already been cleared, as a ball field.